Liam and Emily thought it would be just another one of their weekend explorations. They’d ventured through forgotten hospitals, ghost towns, and derelict schools before, but whispers of a hidden mansion lost somewhere deep in the woods were too tempting to ignore. Locals claimed it was a relic from the 1920s, left untouched since its owners vanished during a violent storm. The road to it had long disappeared beneath roots and soil, and some even said the land itself refused to let visitors leave unchanged.

After hours of pushing through thick forest and damp fog, their flashlights reflected off something that didn’t belong—a pair of crumbling stone pillars smothered in moss. Beyond them stood the mansion, rising like a ghost from another century. Its windows were shattered, the roof bowed with age, yet its frame still carried a stubborn grace. Liam exhaled, half thrilled, half uneasy. “Well,” he muttered, “we actually found it.” Emily lifted her camera, the shutter echoing through the quiet trees. The heavy oak doors ahead were cracked open, gently swaying as if the house had been waiting for them all along.

With a careful push, Emily opened the door wider. It moaned under her touch, releasing a breath of musty air tinged with wood and decay. The grand foyer before them was frozen in time. A chandelier dangled by a single chain, its crystals dull with dust. Portraits of elegant strangers lined the cracked walls, their painted eyes following every movement. “It’s like the house knows we’re here,” Emily whispered. Liam’s flashlight caught a glimpse of two large carved doors at the end of the hall. “Ballroom?” he guessed. “Only one way to find out.” He pressed his hand to the handle—and when the doors groaned open, both of them gasped.

Continue reading on the next page to find out what they discovered!